A Hero Saving a Beautiful Woman?

The night color was exactly thick.

Upon the small path outside Jiangnan City, three fast horses were currently stepping through the night and rushing swiftly.

The horse hooves knocked upon the bluestone road, only sending out an extremely light sound, like three streaks of wind integrated into the night color.

The one at the head was precisely Jun Ao.

He wore a set of tight martial clothes, a long sword hung across his waist.

At his side, A’Qing and A’Shui followed flanking left and right on horseback, the two women’s breath restrained, their gazes alertly scanning the surroundings, the pressure of the Extraordinary Realm hidden and not revealed, protecting Jun Ao firmly in the middle.

“Heir, do we really not say a word to the Prince and the Young Miss?” A’Shui in the end could still not resist opening her mouth, “The Southern Border right now is precisely a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, although you have cultivation now, who can say for sure about matters upon the battlefield? In case…”

“There is no in case.”

Jun Ao pulled the horse reins tight, turning his head to look toward her: “I cannot always hide behind Yingxue and my parents for a lifetime, being a useless person who cannot even manage self-preservation.”

“A flower inside a greenhouse can never grow into a towering giant tree.” Jun Ao turned his horse’s head around, urging the horse forward once again, “Only the battlefield of the Southern Border, only the bastards that cannot be finished killing, can make me truly stand up. I want to make every single person know that I, Jun Ao, am not just the son of the Jinghong Celestial, but am even more myself.”

A’Shui looked at his tall and straight back figure, the dissuasion that arrived at the edge of her mouth was in the end still swallowed back.

She suddenly understood that the Princess Consort naming the heir as “Ao” back then wanted precisely this burst of proud bone that would rather break than bend.

…

Exactly when the sky was blindingly bright, Jun Ao appeared inside a mountain valley thirty li outside Linjiang City.

Going forward thirty li was precisely the Great River that ran across Jiangnan and the Southern Border.

Having crossed the river was the true Southern Border battlefield.

At this moment, only Jun Ao remained alone.

As for A’Qing and A’Shui—

Jun Ao made them hide inside the dark places.

The meaning was very simple, with the two women by his side, how could he still undergo tempering?

However, Jun Ao did not anxiously cross the river.

But instead turned his body around and went to Linjiang City.

When leaving the door he walked in a hurry, except for silver, he brought nothing at all.

Linjiang City as a large city had rich resources.

Jun Ao entered the city, purchasing dry food, injury medicine, clothes for changing, and several jars of good wine, stuffing them all into the Qiankun Bag, and subsequently found a wine house, intending to cross the river after eating and drinking to his fill.

The wine house’s worker saw his clothing was not ordinary and his hand was generous, quickly and diligently leading him to a second-floor elegant seat.

Jun Ao ordered several kinds of signature dishes, and wanted another pot of hot wine, just about to move his chopsticks…

A burst of clamor suddenly came from downstairs.

“Smelly Taoist! Eating a free meal to the point of hitting upon this master’s head? Today if you don’t hand the money over, don’t you think of walking out of this door!”

“Little friend calm your anger, little friend calm your anger… this poor Daoist is truly short of money inside the purse, why not like this, this poor Daoist will divine a single divination for you, and this meal money will be exempted, how about it?”

“Fck your mother’s fart! Less of putting on ghosts and dressing up gods here, quickly give money! Otherwise don’t blame me for reporting to the officials!”

Jun Ao originally did not want to mind other people’s business.

This world had too many fake Taoists who swaggered and swindled, it could not be minded.

But exactly when he was prepared to withdraw his gaze, the voice of the Myriad Soul Banner suddenly rose inside his qi sea:

“Kid, this old Taoist is not simple.”

Jun Ao’s chopsticks gave a pause, yet he did not immediately make a final conclusion, but instead narrowed his eyes to size him up carefully.

That old Taoist was gripped by the shop assistant by his clothes collar, looking distressed, yet his steps landed without sound, absolutely not being an ordinary martial world faker.

“This person has no true qi upon his body, why does the feeling he gives me feel so strange?”

The Myriad Soul Banner let out a cold laugh: “You have a mortal eye and fleshly womb, so naturally you cannot see it. Upon his body there is a very thick bloody scent—it is the flavor of having killed a person. And the ones killed were also not ordinary people, but were extremely treacherous and extremely evil villains. This kind of person, the more blood stained upon their hands, the cleaner their breath. Being able to kill evil people without staining karma, at the minimum he is also a secluded master.”

Jun Ao raised his eyebrows, confirming his own judgment.

He put down his chopsticks, walking toward the stairs entrance.

That old Taoist wore a set of worn-out Taoist robes, his hair and beard messy, a smile forcing upon his face, thoroughly the appearance of a down-and-out martial world person.

But looking carefully, deep inside those turbid eyes, a trace of clarity that could pierce through a person’s heart was clearly hidden.

“How much silver does this Daoist master owe?”

The shop assistant gave a start, sizing Jun Ao up from top to bottom for a glance, quickly switching onto a smiling face: “Yo, this young master, you are doing this…”

“I pay it for him.”

Jun Ao fished out an ingot of silver from inside his sleeve, throwing it to the shop assistant.

The shop assistant caught the silver, his eyes completely lighting up, quickly loosening the old Taoist’s clothes collar, bowing and scraping: “Young master is grand! Young master use slowly! If there is a matter you order!”

Having finished speaking, he ran away in a flash.

The old Taoist organized his clothes robes a bit, looking toward Jun Ao, a trace of hard-to-detect strange color flashing inside his eyes.

“Many thanks for young master’s assistance.” He cupped his hands, “This poor Daoist has nothing to return, why don’t I divine a single divination for young master, how about it?”

Jun Ao smiled a bit: “Can do.”

The old Taoist asked: “What does young master want to divine?”

Jun Ao was silent for a brief moment.

“Just divine whether I in the future,” he said, “can find my mother.”

Hearing the words, the old Taoist’s eyebrows wrinkled slightly.

He stared at Jun Ao’s face to look for a moment, and looked at his palmistry again, suddenly pinching his fingers to calculate and deduce.

Just a brief moment—

His face changed abruptly.

That was an extremely complex expression, shock, horror, and also a few parts of hard-to-describe compassion.

Jun Ao’s heart tightened: “What’s wrong? Could it be my mother…”

The old Taoist shook his head.

He did not speak.

He just dipped in the wine water, writing down a single sentence upon the table.

Then he turned his body around and left, his steps hurried, as if deeply afraid of being caught up to by something.

Jun Ao was somewhat perplexed, lowering his head to look toward that sentence upon the table.

His pupils fiercely gave a constriction.

Eight characters, the force penetrating the table surface, the wine fragrance still remaining—

“The Nine Provinces tribulation rises, Jinghong returns.”

Jun Ao froze on his spot, not moving for a long, long time.

By the time he returned to his senses and wanted to pursue and ask further, the old Taoist had already disappeared at the stairs entrance long ago, with not even a trace of breath left behind.

The voice of the Myriad Soul Banner rose faintly: “Kid, this old Taoist… his origin is afraid to be even larger than I thought.”

Jun Ao did not speak, only staring firmly at those eight characters.

Jinghong returns.

Mother is going to return?

But the next instant, a burst of irresistible force fiercely swept his sea of consciousness!

Inside his mind, the memories regarding the old Taoist started to recede swiftly, just like a beach wiped away by the tide.

He fiercely pressed his forehead, letting out a stifled hum.

When he raised his head again, the eight characters upon the table had already disappeared without a trace, only leaving behind a pool of faint wine marks.

“What is going on?” Jun Ao wrinkled his eyebrows tightly, “Just now… I seemed to have seen something?”

The voice of the Myriad Soul Banner carried shock and anger, yet also carried a trace of blankness: “This deity… only remembers an old Taoist divined a single divination for you, as for what was spoken specifically, this deity… cannot remember clearly! What kind of method is this?! It can even affect this deity’s divine soul?!”

Jun Ao closed his eyes, recalling desperately.

There were only two characters, carved deep inside his soul like a brand, unable to be wiped away no matter what…

Jinghong.

He fiercely opened his eyes, a trace of sharpness flashing inside the bottom of his eyes.

He did not know what happened just now, did not know who that old Taoist was, and even more did not know what those vanished eight characters were.

But he knew that this matter must be related to his mother.

Jun Ao took a deep breath, pressing down the shocking waves inside his heart, picking up his chopsticks, continuing to drink wine and eat dishes.

Only this time, his fingertips were slightly turning white.

…

After Jun Ao ate and drank to his fill, he exited Linjiang City.

The sun had already risen up, illuminating a patch of brightness upon the official road.

He did not delay any further, horse-riding toward the riverbank.

Thirty li of road, whipping the horse to increase speed, it could be reached in half an hour.

Exactly when Jun Ao was prepared to quicken his speed, inside the woods ahead, a burst of shrill female screaming suddenly came.

“Help! Help…!?”

A figure with chaotic clothing ran out from inside the woods stumbling and tripping, her face filled with tear marks, seeing Jun Ao, her eyes instantly lit up, staggering as she pounced over, grabbing Jun Ao’s horse reins with a single grab.

“Young master! Young master help!”

That woman raised her face, crying like a pear blossom carrying rain, her eyebrows and eyes containing affection, a thoroughly pitiful appearance.

Jun Ao’s gaze swept past her face, yet did not have half a part of moving.

He saw the abnormality with a single glance:

Although this woman’s clothing was messy, there was not half a part of marks of struggle, her fingertips flashed an abnormal green-white, and inside the crying shout there was not half a part of fear, but on the contrary hid a trace of deliberate hooking.

Much less to say those seven or eight husky men pursuing behind her, every single one’s breath settled, the hands holding the knives steady like rock, absolutely not being ordinary robbers who beat houses and rob houses.

“Behind there are robbers wanting to grab this servant! Requesting young master to save this servant!”

That woman was still crying and begging, the bald-headed husky man behind had already pursued out holding a large chopping knife, shouting severely toward Jun Ao:

“Kid! This woman is what we brothers took a fancy to! If you are tactful quickly get lost, don’t mind other people’s business!”

Almost at the same time, the voice of the Myriad Soul Banner rose carrying a thick sarcasm: “Kid, this woman and those few behind are all Japanese bastards, the blood qi upon their bodies is exactly the same as those few from last night.”

Jun Ao’s heart was clear, confirming his own guess, the corner of his mouth hooking up a smear of cold and sharp smile.

Upon his face he instead revealed a precisely appropriate fear, shrinking his neck, yielding a bit toward the side, forcing a smile toward those few husky men:

“Several good fellows, I am just a person rushing on the road. You guys be busy, you guys be busy.”

Having finished speaking, he clamped the horse’s belly, about to horse-ride away.

That woman was stunned.

The bald-headed husky man was also stunned.

The script… was not right?

Wasn’t it said that the Zhennan Prince’s Heir was lecherous by nature, and took the set of a hero saving a beautiful woman the most?

How did he leave just like this?!